Favorite Books of 2020

To be honest, I struggled to read in 2020. Reading used to be an activity I did on my Metro commute to and from work. Once we started working from home due to the pandemic, I found that my mind struggled to focus. (I also struggled with writing as you can see from the date of my last post.) Words seemed to go in one eye and out the other. I would understand each word but fail to grasp their ideas once strung together. I had to work on my mental well-being before I could sit down with a book again. Once I rediscovered it, I remembered how much I loved it, how it centered me, transported me away. Here are the top books that helped me get through 2020 followed by a quote to get you interested:

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: I love coming-of-age stories featuring young women, mysteries, and nature. This novel brings all three together beautifully.

“I wasn’t aware that words could hold so much. I didn’t know a sentence could be so full.”

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee: I was ignorant of the complicated relationship between Korea-Japan until I went to Korea. This novel tells the story of multiple generations of a Korean family in Japan and their sacrifices. I love how Lee weaves in history to tell this family’s saga in an incredibly moving way.

“Living everyday in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage”

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi: This novel tells the story of a Ghanaian family in Alabama. It focuses on Gifty and how she grapples with her brother’s death, her mother’s depression, religion, and science. Words cannot describe the emotional depth and thoughtfulness of this novel.

“If I’ve thought of my mother as callous, and many times I have, then it is important to remember what a callus is: the hardened tissue that forms over a wound.”

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong: The prose of this novel is like poetry. I love this book, even though I am not usually found of poetry. This book is a letter from a Vietnamese young man to his illiterate single mother. It tells the story of their love for each other with such rawness and intimacy.

“In Vietnamese, the word for missing someone and remembering them is the same: nhớ. Sometimes, when you ask me over the phone, Có nhớ mẹ không? I flinch, thinking you meant, Do you remember me? I miss you more than I remember you.”

I hope you check these books out. All 4 of these authors broke my heart in different ways. Did you struggle to read in 2020? What were your favorite books or short stories?